Many unhappy returns

For states that account for the bulk of the migrants, this unprecedented reverse migration imposes extraordinary challenges of absorbing them without causing social disruptions

Scores of migrant labourers and their families are now back in their home states. Having suffered the extreme trauma of eviction and joblessness, many are unlikely to leave even the uncertain safety of their villages in a hurry. For the foreseeable future, then, India will see a unique and artificially created imbalance in its labour force. States with relatively low private manufacturing and construction activity will have large cohorts of unemployed and underemployed people. Those where private activity is limping back to normal will suffer a shortage of skilled and semi-skilled workers.

For states that account for the bulk of the